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The Protestant Reformation (Part 1)
“Arise, O Lord, and judge Thy cause. A wild boar has invaded Thy vineyard.” This was the essence of the papal bull issued by Pope’s Leo X in response to Martin Luther’s rebellion against the Church of Rome. In a sense, Luther’s actions forced Rome to address the issue of whether salvation was solely of God’s grace or man working in union with grace. Luther is credited as the instrument God used in bringing this issue to its eventual climax. However, this is far from the truth! The seed from which this movement began sprang from the heretical teaching known as Pelagianism named after its founder Pelagius. Unfortunately, all that is known of him is that he was a British Monk who “lived in Rome for a long time” (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Pelagius and Pelaginism). In either case, his relevance to our current discussion is not his origin but the denial of Origin Sin. Any denial of this critical doctrine will always lead to a misunderstanding or distortion of salvation. Many are mislead by the term “original.” Usually, the use of this word suggests the first of something. In this case it would be a reference to the first sin committed by Adam. However, the Biblical Doctrine of Original Sin has as its focus, not so much the first sin as it does the effects of that act. In other words, when the Church speaks of Original Sin, its focus is on the spiritual death or separation (and all its subsequent results) that occurred when Adam sinned. In Pelagius’ mind, man did not need the Spirit’s regenerative power to be saved (or to live holy) but was able to either reject or receive Christ by their own faith. These views about Original Sin necessarily lead to a wrong understanding of the biblical doctrine of predestination; which speaks of God’s foreknowledge and foreordination, as being the determinative causes in predestination. If God has to wait or base His plans on what I might do when presented with salvation, then He is not Sovereign, but limited by the actions of man. Into the arena of Christendom at this critical time steps a North African Bishop who readily realized the danger present in Pelagianism. As a young man, he struggled with an insatiable sexual desire that literally controlled his life. After being saved, he came to understand clearly why he was unable to control this particular appetite as well as the other mischievous acts that occupied his time. He concluded that Adam’s sin was passed down through his posterity and made it impossible for any man (mankind) to do any moral good. He was spiritually dead and without ability to save himself. This man’s name was Aurelius Augustine. Augustine was God’s man for this time in Church History. His brilliance and clear understanding of Scripture and love of God made him a perfect defender of the faith against a man like Pelagius. He not only addressed the issue of Original Sin but also was the first person to state clearly the biblical doctrine of predestination. He declared that God chose “some” from the mass of fallen mankind and grants on them His grace. As a result of Augustine’s stern opposition and the actions of the Council of Ephesus Pelagianism was condemned in 431 A.D. Monks were men who set themselves apart from society. They renounced the comforts of this world and sought the rewards offered in self-discipline (Monasticism). While such a life might be regarded as being righteous and God pleasing, it sets forth “another gospel”—one based on works and not grace. In a sense it is man trying to attain righteousness by his own efforts. The early monks lived a life of individualism and extremism as a result. This is not to say nor imply that this was true of all monks. Like any new movement, it came about because of a deficiency in the Church. Under Constantine, the church became less and less Christ centered and thus less committed to the truth of the Gospel. Therefore, Monasticism was seen as a way back to devotion to God and His way. Because most of the men who adopted this lifestyle had no established rules or set standards, many lived a life that lacked any purpose. To solve this problem, a soldier named Pachomius instituted the first Christian Monastery (Church History In Plan Language, Bruce L. Shelley, Word). This brought structure to the Monk’s life and established them as a regular community where they ate, labored and worshipped together. They came under strict guidelines that included a uniform dress, fixed hours of work and worship. In 1243 Pope Innocent IV issued a decree establishing the Augustinian Order of Monks. By 1255, this particular order had spread to Germany. This was important because in 1483 a young man was born in Saxon Germany. That man’s name was Martin Luther. Like any son, Luther’s wanted to fulfill his parents’ dream of becoming a successful lawyer. Luther did not let the struggles of life hold him back from achieving the goal of becoming a scholar (The Triumph of truth, A Life of Martin Luther, Jean Henri Merle d’Aubigne, Bob Jones University Press). By the age of eighteen, Luther entered the university of Erfurt. It was not long before “all that he read or heard remained constantly present to his mind; it was as if he had seen it himself” (Triumph of Truth). But despite all this, there was “something within” Luther that had been instilled within him while staying in the Christian home of a couple who lived out the life of Christ before him. Their life left an impact on his life that left him restless for years to come; a restlessness that education could not satisfy. Therefore, Luther became plagued with trying to fill this void in soul. In his second year at Erfurt, Luther was going over books in the library to learn the authors name and came across a rare book that caught his attention. That book, rare and unknown in those times, was the Holy Bible (Triumph of Truth). The Bible captivated the young lawyer. He was familiar with the fragments of the Gospels and Epistles read to the people in church during worship. To him, these had comprised the whole of Scripture. But now the discovery of the whole Bible brought joy to his heart (Triumph of Truth). Little did he know that this would become water for the seed planted in his heart by couple he had stayed with years earlier! In 1505, while returning from his home back to university, a bolt of lightening knocked Luther to the ground. In despair or fear, he cried out, “Save me St. Anne! And I’ll become a monk” (Church History). Much to the dismay of his parents (especially his father), Luther kept his vow to the patroness of miners (the trade of his father) and entered the Augustinian monastery of Erfurt Germany. Luther quickly took hold of this new life with more zeal than any Monk that has ever lived. What he discovered was that “It profiteth” him nothing “to have entered this sacred order” (Triumph of Truth). His soul craved for God, yet he could not find him. He deprived his body of sleep and food. He would spend hours on hours in confession. Yet he found no relief for his anguish soul. In 1509, Luther attained the degree of Bachelor of Divinity at the University of Wittenberg, formed in 1502. Of particular note about this university was the fact it had selected Augustine as its patron saint. From that point on, Luther lectured on “the Bible: a precious hour both for the professor and his pupils” (Triumph of Truth). The two books he taught from were Psalms and Romans. On one occasion in 1515 while meditation on the seventeenth verse of the first chapter of Romans, Luther was struck by Habakkuk’s words that “The just shall live by faith.” It was this passage along with Augustine’s commentary of it that God used in bringing this monk to salvation. Luther finally realized that man’s salvation is not dependent on his own merit, but by faith in the merit of Christ’s sacrifice (Church History). Steeped in the teachings of Augustine, especially his teachings on sin, grace predestination and its associated doctrine of election and foreknowledge, Luther became a powerful preacher in the church of Wittenberg. Part of his preaching involved a severe criticism of the sale of indulgence, especially by the Dominican John Tetzel, who was selling these indulgences in Germany. To Luther, this was bad theology. As a means of defense and protest, he drew up 95 propositions (or theses) for theological debate on the issue. These propositions were nailed to the Castle Church door at Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517. Luther contention was that indulgences cannot remove guilt and induce a false sense of security to the donor. These comments by him were the sparks that ignited the Protestant Reformation (Triumph of Truth). He had indeed become a “wild boar” in a vineyard.
In Christ, Minister John Cobb
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